How badly do you regret having gone to law school ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a toughie.

I came from nothing and went to law school because I didn't know what else to do with a liberal arts degree. I had a terrible LSAT score (being too unsophisticated and poor to even know about the existence of prep courses) but very high grades from a decent but not great college. I got into a school at the bottom of the top 20-25 at a time when tuition wasn't as crazy as it is now, so I went. I somehow ended up at the very top of the class, got a great clerkship, and from there landed a job with a top firm in Biglaw. It took a while, but eventually I made equity partner, made a lot of money (low by Biglaw partner standards but still very good), -- and walked away completely in my early 50s.

I hated every minute of my time with Biglaw. My colleagues were zero fun at their best and total a$$holes at their worst. The clients were only slightly better, and of course mostly evil. The hours themselves weren't always killer, but you never really could be comfortably off the clock and that brings a lot of stress even when you're not working. You constantly felt yourself being "evaluated" in one way or another, and it didn't stop once you made partner.

I remember having lunch with other partners in the firm cafeteria and listening to them talk proudly of how their kids were at T-14 law schools and joinging biglaw - and feeling really sorry both for them and the kids.

I stayed in the law for one reason alone: money. I had a big family and big families require money. It's also very hard to walk away from that kind of money when you come from none, especially when you have a famiiy. You feel like it's crazy or even selfish to give it up. But give it up I did, almost the second my youngest graduated college.

So, to sum it all of, the law gave me a real leg up on providing very well for a great family and enabling me to retire very early and very comfortably, and I'm grateful for all of that. But it sure sucked the whole time I was doing it.

do you actually not work at all now? what do you do with your time? maybe I’m a weirdo but if I were in your position I would have so much fun doing pro bono cases and kicking *ss.

I no longer do any kid of work at all. I have no interest in "kicking ass" in the legal field, even doing pro bono. I let my law license expire years ago and no longer even consider myself a lawyer. Before Covid, I traveled internationally a lot and otherwise just hung out with family and friends. When Covid hit, I bought a country house with a pool and hunkered down. It's been great. Who knows what's next -- after we get past the Delta variant, that is!

I retired from law in my early fifties and actually switched fields to something way more interesting. It takes about a year of decompression to realize just how much that 27 years of law sucked so bad. I can’t even imagine wanting to kick ass either!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a toughie.

I came from nothing and went to law school because I didn't know what else to do with a liberal arts degree. I had a terrible LSAT score (being too unsophisticated and poor to even know about the existence of prep courses) but very high grades from a decent but not great college. I got into a school at the bottom of the top 20-25 at a time when tuition wasn't as crazy as it is now, so I went. I somehow ended up at the very top of the class, got a great clerkship, and from there landed a job with a top firm in Biglaw. It took a while, but eventually I made equity partner, made a lot of money (low by Biglaw partner standards but still very good), -- and walked away completely in my early 50s.

I hated every minute of my time with Biglaw. My colleagues were zero fun at their best and total a$$holes at their worst. The clients were only slightly better, and of course mostly evil. The hours themselves weren't always killer, but you never really could be comfortably off the clock and that brings a lot of stress even when you're not working. You constantly felt yourself being "evaluated" in one way or another, and it didn't stop once you made partner.

I remember having lunch with other partners in the firm cafeteria and listening to them talk proudly of how their kids were at T-14 law schools and joinging biglaw - and feeling really sorry both for them and the kids.

I stayed in the law for one reason alone: money. I had a big family and big families require money. It's also very hard to walk away from that kind of money when you come from none, especially when you have a famiiy. You feel like it's crazy or even selfish to give it up. But give it up I did, almost the second my youngest graduated college.

So, to sum it all of, the law gave me a real leg up on providing very well for a great family and enabling me to retire very early and very comfortably, and I'm grateful for all of that. But it sure sucked the whole time I was doing it.

do you actually not work at all now? what do you do with your time? maybe I’m a weirdo but if I were in your position I would have so much fun doing pro bono cases and kicking *ss.

I no longer do any kid of work at all. I have no interest in "kicking ass" in the legal field, even doing pro bono. I let my law license expire years ago and no longer even consider myself a lawyer. Before Covid, I traveled internationally a lot and otherwise just hung out with family and friends. When Covid hit, I bought a country house with a pool and hunkered down. It's been great. Who knows what's next -- after we get past the Delta variant, that is!

How much money did you have when you retired? Im a lawyer, late forties, with six millions saved and no kids to put through college and am trying to decide if that’s enough.

I had considerably less than that and it has proven to be plenty. In fact, seven years later I now have more than that thanks to the market and sensible spending habits. There’s nothing stopping you from walking away now if you’re truly serious about it. The one issue, of course, is health insurance. My firm graciously allowed me to stay on its plan and just keep paying the premium. It’s truly been an amazingly seemless transition money-wise and a lifesaver from a mental health perspective.

[Anonymous]

I don’t regret it at all. I think I’m a natural-born litigator. I can’t imagine ever not litigating. It’s truly my calling.

[Anonymous]

“I retired from law in my early fifties and actually switched fields to something way more interesting. It takes about a year of decompression to realize just how much that 27 years of law sucked so bad. I can’t even imagine wanting to kick ass either!”

That’s great. But it’s not really retirement, right? You made a career change. Still, it took guts. Congrats.

[Anonymous]

I'm a government attorney and we've hired doc review refugees. They did also do things to show a demonstrated interest in our field however, like specialized CLE. So it's not impossible to get out of doc review you A) have to set your sights reasonably and b) give us a reason to hire you.

[Anonymous]

Don't regret it at all. Got academic scholarships, graduated without debt, am super proud of myself for getting through law school and passing two bars, and love being a lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
“I retired from law in my early fifties and actually switched fields to something way more interesting. It takes about a year of decompression to realize just how much that 27 years of law sucked so bad. I can’t even imagine wanting to kick ass either!”

That’s great. But it’s not really retirement, right? You made a career change. Still, it took guts. Congrats.

I retired from the law. Not all work. That said, other jobs require you to work when you’re working and then for the most part you’re off. As a lawyer one often is thinking about work all the time. So having a different job where I get to actually be off almost feels like retirement with some interruptions to go do something interesting and I get paid.

[Anonymous]

If I had to do it all over I'd probably do comp sci or finance but law is fine. I get to be an SVP at a major corp. without having to manage anyone at all -- just negotiate important contracts. Now that I'm a little older, I realize that setup is actually better than SVP managing a big team.

Grass is always greener, etc. If I had $10 million I'd quit but I'm more fortunate than 99.9℅ of the planet (prob. like 99.99% actually) and try to remember that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Big regrets, but it's complicated wishing away a decision like that.

The bad: I did not wind up practicing law and paying back my loans is taking forever. I graduated debt free from undergrad and really wish I had just entered the workforce then. I've made more money with a law degree than I would have without it, but not enough to justify the money I borrowed and it has really narrowed my career options in an unpleasant way (I like my current job well enough but it's not what I'd choose to do if I did it again, and I've had a number of truly terrible jobs that I took for the money and because they allowed me to use my degree). If I were to advise anyone now, I would say go work for at least 3-4 years between undergrad and law school and then see if you still want to go. But I actually got that advice before I went, from a person I didn't like, and I should have taken it. It's hard to tell a 22 year old anything.

The good: I likely would not have ended up in the city where I now live without that a degree. I would not have made the friends I did, who are still my closest friends today. I would not have met my husband and thus would not have had my daughter. I have zero regrets about any of that and find the idea of not having those things pretty devastating.

But yeah, if there were a way to just erase that degree and the loans from my life, and chalk those three years up to a lesson learned, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

Have you considered PSLF?

[Anonymous]

Not at all. I’m an in-house attorney, make a solid income and have decent work/life balance. I enjoy my work and really like my colleagues. I feel very fortunate.

[Anonymous]

Don't regret it. I like my job and live comfortably. I regret some specific choices like an east coast school and DC centric area of practice, just because it limits my ability to move near family in CA.

I do think timing is everything. At several key points I squeaked into jobs because of good timing, and if I'd graduated a year or two later I might have had a different story.

[Anonymous]

I do not regret law school. To be a lawyer was what I wanted from elementary school. After graduation I lived at home in order to pay off my student loans, which I did. Not a regret, but I wish had had a mentor early on to educate me on job/career avenues and how to play the game. As a 1st gen college student and American I had no idea. So while I do not regret law school, my career has not at all gone as I had envisioned or wanted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a government attorney and we've hired doc review refugees. They did also do things to show a demonstrated interest in our field however, like specialized CLE. So it's not impossible to get out of doc review you A) have to set your sights reasonably and b) give us a reason to hire you.

what field? I’ve heard of dove doc reviewers going to the BVA but that’s worse than doc review.

[Anonymous]

Yes and no, I guess. I graduated from a top five law school. Went because I didn't know what else to do with myself. Took out a fortune in loans to put off having to figure out what I actually wanted.

Having that degree offered me a lot of options in life that I wouldn't have had otherwise. Having the loans forced me to be somewhat responsible even when I just wanted to go fool around but I also have very veyr little saved for retirement.

I really wasted that degree - stopped practicing after eight years, did a million other more interesting things, none of which pays very much.

Now that I am older and more settled down, I sort of wish I could use my law degree again - but I don't really have any path for that, I've been out so long. And I don't live in the jurisdiction where I'm barred, and I cannot fathom at this age taking a new bar.

Anyway - back in time, I still don't know what I should have done with myself. In my 20s I just wanted to mess around and not be squeezed into a routine. I paid for it!

[Anonymous]

I regret it, absolutely. I took out about $200k in loans at 8% interest and graduated right into the recession. I had to work for the sheistiest personal injury firms and compete against T14 grads also doing what they could to stay out of doc review. My last day as a lawyer was spent in a screaming match with the firm owner over settling a case of a tomato can "slip and fall" for only $20k. He ended the argument by telling me the GS 9 non-attorney fed gov job I managed to land was less than one year's tuition at my crap law school. As soon as I get PSLF I will consider letting my license expire.